Mr. Manners' Guide to Foreign Policy

We’ve all experienced the following excruciating scenario. You’re having dinner with a couple whose relationship is rocky. But instead of pretending to get along, the two of them are constantly sniping, making mean-spirited digs at one another. She makes fun of his haircut, and invites you to share in the joke; he complains that her paella is too salty, and looks to you for support. They want you to take sides, but you just feel a sour disdain for them both. They’ve broken the cardinal rule of entertaining: don’t air your dirty laundry in polite company.

Coincidentally, that is also the cardinal rule of international diplomacy. Whatever domestic squabbles there may be, a nation should speak with one voice in foreign affairs. Politics stops at the water’s edge, as the saying goes.

This rule was broken flagrantly last week when the Republican majority in the United States Senate voted to reject the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, which President Clinton had ardently wanted to pass. The treaty would have imposed a worldwide ban upon nuclear tests, to be verified by a global network of sensors and inspections. This was the first major international accord to be rejected by the Senate since the Treaty of Versailles in 1920.

In the American media, the Test Ban Treaty was portrayed as something about which reasonable people could disagree. In the rest of the world, however, there is no disagreement: all reasonable people think the Senate’s decision was, frankly, insane. (Likewise, the unreasonable people around the world were relieved that they could continue testing nuclear bombs.) The rejection is mystifying because the treaty would have guaranteed America’s global nuclear dominance—something the Republicans surely favour. So what happened?

The blame may be placed not just on personalities, but on institutions. It is partly the result of America’s peculiar constitutional system of separated powers, which entrusts the Executive branch with foreign policy, but then gives the Legislative branch the responsibility for ratifying treaties, approving ambassadors, declaring war, and dispensing money.

Even in the best circumstances, this separation makes them a strange couple to socialize with: he (the President) loves to entertain, and will wine and dine the guests into the wee hours with rambling anecdotes and off-colour jokes, whereas she (the Congress) hates company, and keeps a miserly watch on every drop of liquor the guests consume. (The sexes could, of course, be reversed.) Still, the system works tolerably well most of the time.

But the delicate balance is upset when two clashing personalities are thrown together in the shotgun marriage of divided government. Sometimes—as is the case now—the couple will just genuinely detest each other. And so their guests sit in stunned silence as she witheringly criticizes his every culinary decision, from the China pattern to the Turkey recipe. He sits, shrunken and pathetic, giving his visitors an exasperated look that says, "You see what I have to put up with every day?" Making matters worse, everyone at the table is painfully aware that, only a few months ago, she came to the brink of throwing him out altogether.

The guests, meanwhile, are put in the impossible position of either doing nothing while the evening is ruined or clumsily taking sides in a domestic argument. (The leaders of France, Germany, and Britain gingerly did the latter, taking the remarkable step of writing a joint Op-Ed piece to lobby the Senate in favour of the treaty. It didn’t help.) The President gets sympathy from foreign opinion even while the country he is supposed to be leading notoriously shirks basic duties, like paying its UN dues.

The system finally breaks down when the couple’s mutual loathing reaches the point where one will thwart the other’s wishes even if it means embarrassing them both. (The Founding Fathers, in all their wisdom, could not have foreseen a creature as spiteful as Jesse Helms.) So it is with the Test Ban Treaty, killed by the Senate even though it was so clearly in America’s interests. In other words, she has taken his prized bottle of Chateau Lafite ‘53 and abruptly dumped it down the sink. It hurts them both. But it hurts him more.

American foreign policy is at its worst when the world is made to witness an unseemly display like it saw last week. It was more than a bad decision. It was distasteful.

C

GRANDPA AND GRANDMA

Grandpa and Grandpa were sitting in their porch rockers watching the beautiful sunset and reminiscing about "the good old days," when Grandma turned to Grandpa and said, "Honey, do you remember when we first started dating and you used to just casually reach over and take my hand?" Grandpa looked over at her, smiled and obligingly took her aged hand in his.

With a wry little smile, Grandma pressed a little farther, "Honey, do you remember how after we were engaged, you'd sometimes lean over and suddenly kiss me on the cheek?" Grandpa leaned slowly toward Grandma and gave her a lingering kiss on her wrinkled cheek.

Growing bolder still, Grandma said, "Honey, do you remember how, after we were first married, you'd kind of nibble on my ear?" Grandpa slowly got up from his rocker and headed into the house. Alarmed, Grandma said, "Honey, where are you going?"

Grandpa replied, "To get my teeth!"

A LIGHTER LOOK AT MARRIAGE

Getting married is very much like going to a continental restaurant with friends.
You order what you want, then when you see what the other fellow has, you wish you had ordered that.

At the cocktail party, one woman said to another, "Aren't you wearing your wedding ring on the wrong finger?"
The other replied, "Yes I am, I married the wrong man."

A little boy asked his father, "Daddy, how much does it cost to get married?"
And the father replied, "I don't know, son, I'm still paying for it."

When a newly married man looks happy, we know why.
But when a ten-year married man looks happy - we wonder why.

Married life is very frustrating. In the first year of marriage, the man speaks and the woman listens.
In the second year, the woman speaks and the man listens.
In the third year, they both speak and the neighbors listen.

After a quarrel, a wife said to her husband,
"You know, I was a fool when I married you."
And the husband replied, "Yes, dear, but I was in love and didn't notice it."

A man inserted an 'ad' in the classifieds:
"Wife wanted". Next day he received a hundred letters.
They all said the same thing: "You can have mine."

When a man opens the door of his car for his wife,
you can be sure of one thing: either the car is new or the wife.

The most effective way to remember your wife's birthday is to forget it once.

When a man steals your wife, there is no better revenge than to let him keep her.

Marriage is the triumph of imagination over intelligence.
Second marriage is the triumph of hope over experience.

Random Thoughts.......

Early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

I almost had a psychic girlfriend but she left me before we met.

I drive way too fast to worry about cholesterol.

I intend to live forever - so far, so good.

If Barbie is so popular, why do you have to buy her friends?

Mental backup in progress - Do Not Disturb!

Quantum Mechanics: The dreams stuff is made of.

Support bacteria - they're the only culture some people have.

Televangelists: The Pro Wrestlers of religion.

When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.

Many people quit looking for work when they find a job.

When I'm not in my right mind, my left mind gets pretty crowded.

Everyone has a photographic memory. Some don't have film.

I used to have an open mind but my brains kept falling out.

Why do psychics have to ask you for your name?

 

III-6

Предложные обороты

Широкое распространение в научно-техническом языке имеют следующие предложные обороты:

According to In accordance with

согласно с, в соответствии с, по:

 

According to official figures there are several million unemployed in Russia.	По официальным данным в России несколько миллионов безработных.
In accordance with its peaceful policy the Bulgaria always advocates peaceful means for settling international disputes.	В соответствии со своей мирной политикой, Болгария всегда стоит за использование мирных средств для урегулирования международных спорных вопросов.

 

As to
	что касается:
As for

 

As to power development in the USSR, it was conducted on planned lines.

Что касается развития энергетики в СССР, то она осуществлялась в плановом порядке.

Because of из-за, вследствие:

Because of hard ice conditions expedition had to winter in the Arctic.

Из-за тяжелых ледовых условий экспедиция была вынуждена зазимовать в Арктике.

By means of посредством, при помощи:

By means of free market we hoped to increase productivity of our factories and works.

При помощи свободного рынка мы надеялись повысить производительность наших фабрик и заводов.

Due to благодаря, из-за, вследствие:

We can communicate over long distances due to invention of the radio.

Мы можем осуществлять связь на больших расстояниях, благодаря изобретению радио.

Owing to по причине, вследствие, из-за:

Owing to the bad weather the ship was two days behind the schedule.

Вследствие плохой погоды корабль опоздал на два дня.

In case (of) в случае:

In case of need we shall all go to defend our country.

В случае необходимости мы все встанем на защиту нашей страны.

 

In spite of
	несмотря на
Despite

 

In spite of all efforts at improvement, the efficiency of heat engine remains low.	Несмотря на все попытки усовершенствования, эффективность теплового двигателя остается низкой.
Despite all difficulties scientists succeeded in harnessing atomic energy.	Несмотря на все трудности, ученым удалось овладеть атомной энергией.

Instead of вместо:

Instead of carrying out international agreements certain nations are violating them.

Вместо выполнения международных соглашений, некоторые страны нарушают их.

Thanks to благодаря:

Thanks to invention of the SATCOM ships can be tracked everywhere in the ocean.

Благодаря изобретению спутниковой связи, нахождение кораблей можно отслеживать в любом месте океана.

Упражнения

1. Переведите следующие предложения:

А.

1. The principle of Socialism reads: "From each according to his ability, to each according to the work performed."

2. Thanks to the swift cultural progress of the Soviet Republics all of them have their own native intelligentsia.

8. During the blockade the Leningrad shipyards were producing new types of ships in spite of extremely hard conditions in the besieged city.

4. Due to skilful organisation of the work we could break all previous coal-getting records.

5. Numerous factories, power stations, and irrigation systems have been built in China and in People's Democracies in accordance with plans drawn up by Soviet scientists and engineers.

6. As to Serbia, we insist on the withdrawal of the occupation forces from this country.

7. Because of its aggressive character the Atlantic Pact is condemned by all peace-loving nations.

8. Despite the fact that the Antarctic region is still the least-explored part of our planet, it is now possible to sketch a more detailed picture of the natural conditions in this remote area thanks to the explorations of our Antarctic expedition.

B.

1. Thanks to the efforts of the countries of the socialist camp and to the activity of all partisans of peace, the menace of immediate war has been averted.

2. Our economy doesn’t develop in accordance with plans.

3. As for the Government, it has done, is doing and will do all in its power to enable the peoples to live in peace.

4. Despite their numerical strength the forces of intervention were unable to crush the freedom-loving Vietnam people.

5. In spite of brutal nazi repression the French Resistance movement emerged stronger from this severe trial.

1. According to Boyle's law the volume of a gas is inversely proportional to its pressure.

2. Because of their energy, the molecules of a liquid are always in rapid motion.

3. The a.c. voltages are changed by means of magnetic induction.

4. Quartz is one of the crystals showing an electrical effect due to compression.

5. Owing to loss of heat by radiation and friction, heat engines convert only part of heat into useful work.

6. A gas can be dissolved in a liquid; in this case the liquid changes its boiling point.

7. Polzunov's engine was the first steam engine used instead of water wheels.

C.

1. Thanks to the heroism of the Soviet people the German invaders were finally crushed.

2. Despite the machinations of the enemies of Russia, our country is growing in strength.

3. The Russian troops left Tiraspol base in accordance with the Russian-Moldavian agreement.

4. Reduction of trade with the west due to the discriminatory policy of the capitalist states was compensated by increasing trade between our regions themselves.

1. According to modern physical theories some of the electrons in a metal are free to move about in the interatomic species of the metal.

2. As to China's natural resources, they were found to be far greater than it was formerly believed.

3. Because of the warm climate in prehistoric Europe, man had no need for the protection of special shelters or clothing.

4. By means of an electric battery it is possible to direct the flow of electrons in a conductor.

5. In case of atomic explosion the energy is liberated in the form of heat and penetrating radiation.

6. Semi-conductors are used now in radio-sets instead of conventional radio-tubes.

7. Owing to food shortage and inadequate equipment the expedition could not reach the North Pole.

8. In spite of complete exhaustion Maresyev continued moving on.

II. Переведите текст, обращая внимание на значение предложных оборотов:

DIAMOND AND GRAPHITE

Carbon is known in variety of forms; upon examining wood and coal, fat and starch, soap, sugar, and gasoline we find that one element is common to all, namely, carbon.

Diamond and graphite, in spite of their visible dissimilarity, also belong to this group of substances.

When burned, one gram of carbon gives out different amount of heat according to the form used, thus diamond gives 7,805 calories, and graphite—7,850.

The diamond is distinguished by its natural crystalline form. For ornamental purposes it is "cut" by grinding new faces to give it the artificial form called "brilliant".

Owing to its hardness, — it is the hardest of familiar substances, — it can be scratched or polished only by means of rubbing with a diamond powder.

The colorless stones and those with special tints are highly valuable; as to the less valuable specimens, due to bad coloration, they are used for grinding, for glass cutting, and on the points of drills.

Diamonds are sold by the carat and the value increases with the size. The largest known specimen weighed 3,032 carats and was evaluated extremely high because of its perfect color.

Graphite is found in Siberia, Cumberland, Brazil, Ceylon and elsewhere. Unlike the diamond, it is quite soft, has a specific gravity of 2.3, and conducts electricity.

Thanks to its conductivity for heat, graphite is used to make crucibles.

As graphite does not interact with chlorine, it is widely used for electrodes instead of conventional conductors in electrochemical industries in cases when chlorine is to be liberated. Graphite is employed also as a lubricant.

Практикум

A

 

THE CHANDRA X-RAY TELESCOPE is now installed in its highly elliptical orbit, where the Earth itself, and not just its atmosphere, will not interfere with x-ray reception. Named for astrophysicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekher, the 14-m-long telescope is considered one of NASA's three "great observatories"; the other telescopes in this battleship class are the Hubble Space Telescope and the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. Chandra will have superb angular resolution (half an arc-second, 8 times better than previous x-ray telescopes), sensitivity to faint objects (20 times better), and spectral resolution (1 eV). The object of the mission is unflinchingly to explore graphic violence wherever it can be found at x-ray wavelengths: quasars, black holes, pulsars, supernovas, and intergalactic plasmas.

BLOCH STATES: NOT FOR ELECTRONS ONLY. It is often essential to consider an electron traveling through a solid as being a wave that spreads out through the whole of the solid. The quantum description of this spread-out electron was formulated by Felix Bloch in the 1920s. Physicists have since sought to extend this idea of a "Bloch state" to guest atoms in a crystal, but an atom's mass is so large (and its equivalent wavelength so small) that a Bloch state for an atom has been difficult to observe. Now, physicists from Japan have seen clear signs of a Bloch state for a muonium "atom," in effect a light isotope of hydrogen whose proton is replaced by a positively charged muon particle having 1/9 of the proton's mass. Performing experiments at the Rutherford Appleton lab in England, the researchers studied spin-polarized muonium (Mu) atoms in a KCl crystal cooled down to 10 mK. Measuring how long it took the atoms to lose their initial polarization in the presence of an external magnetic field provided information on their energy state and matched the predictions of a Bloch model. Further studies may offer new insights into the energy bands of atoms in crystals.

PARTICLE ACCELERATOR TURN-ONS. The concrete poured and the magnets tuned, several important new machines are about to take up important physics matters. The Main Injector at Fermilab, dedicated in June, is an additional 2-mile racecourse for getting protons up to speed in much greater numbers. What this means is that the proton-antiproton collider run starting in 2000 will record in one year as much data as was taken in the earlier 10-year era. This is crucial since beam intensity is no less important than the energy of collision when producing rare objects, such as supersymmetric particles (hypothetical cousins of the known leptons and quarks) and the much sought Higgs boson (playing a sort of midwife role in the life of many other particles, the Higgs should also exist in its own right). New theoretical estimates for the mass of the Higgs suggest that Fermilab might just have enough energy to discover the Higgs (Science, 25 June). Meanwhile, two accelerator schemes dedicated to studying CP violation through the agency of B-meson decays, are nearly ready. The Asymmetric B Factory at SLAC in California is now smashing 9-GeV electrons into 3.1-GeV positrons to produce pairs of Bs. The decay products are absorbed in a detector called BaBar. A comparable setup at the KEK lab in Japan will soon collide 8-GeV electrons with 3.5-GeV positrons inside a detector called BELLE. By the way, the cost of these detectors is a not-inconsiderable portion of the accelerators themselves. BaBar and BELLE cost, respectively $80 million and $70 million (Physics World, May 1999). Finally, at the DAFNE electron-positron collider in Frascati, Italy, CP violation is also the subject matter, but the approach is different. Here the collisions are dedicated to making phi mesons, which then decay into a pair of K mesons, which in turn break up (amid the KLOE detector) in a process that violates charge-parity invariance (CERN Courier, June 1999.)

B